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Rafael Nadal Australian Open 2022

‘Stop this or something major will happen’ – Rafael Nadal demands ATP punishments


Rafael Nadal has called on the tennis authorities to clamp down on racket smashes after an incident involving Nick Kyrgios at Indian Wells.

Nadal was able to overcome Kyrgios in the quarter-finals despite the Australian serving for the first set.

It was a result that maintained Nadal’s perfect start to the season but Kyrgios was clearly frustrated after the match.

Following the handshake, Kyrgios slammed his racket onto the ground with it bouncing up and narrowing missing a ball boy.

Fortunately it missed him, but Nadal, who has never smashed a racket in his professional career, wants punishments now to avoid injuries in the future.

“These situations are happening more and more often. The ATP should put a stop to this. Otherwise sooner or later something major will happen.”

Nadal has often been vocal about racket smashes, saying in 2021: “There are kids who would love to have a tennis racquet, so I will never break a racket.

“If I lose, it’s my fault. Not my racket’s.”

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Michael Graham, Tennishead.net Editor, has been a professional sports journalist for his whole career and is especially passionate about tennis. He's been the Editor of Tennishead.net for over 5 years and loves watching live tennis by visiting as many tournaments as possible. Michael specialises in writing in-depth features about the ATP & WTA tours.